Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Blogging in the Classroom
After only one week of this course, I am thinking about technology in the classroom from a new angle. My first thoughts always jump to what Dr. Thornburg describes as doing things differently. Technology can provide both educators and students with new materials to change the way we currently learn. It is important to appreciate these changes, however, it is also necessary that educators go beyond doing things differently. I have my certification in English for grades 7 through 12, but unfortunately I do not have my own classroom and have not had the experience using blogs in the classroom yet. Blogging seems to have endless opportunities in the English classroom especially because of the writing aspect. In literature, it is important to discuss different interpretations and key elements of the piece within the class. I think blogging to each other to peers within the course would be doing something differently. Rather than writing journals or verbally expressing their opinion, they could write it, and through this everyone would have a voice. I think that could be beneficial, and a great starting off point, but I think it would wasting the tool if an educator did not take it further than that. Students within the class may have similar opinions, based on culture of the school, neighborhood, state, and even country. It would be an interesting blog experience to have students connect with readers from an entirely different setting. Students might be shocked to see the opinions of their peers that reside in a different location. This type of technique could bring new ideas about the text into the classroom that I might not have even thought of. Students could then share personal connections with the text and learn about peers outside of their community and their own comfort area. This would enhance the classroom discussion and bring in alternative views that students in my classroom may never have thought of. As mentioned, it can be a place for students to showcase their work as well. It will be a great tool to allow students to share with their classmates, but a way to share it with the world. Not only students, but parents, other educators, or anyone that students would feel comfortable sharing their work with. The only issue that might be a problem with this lesson, is the difficulty in finding and contacting an educator working on the same novel. It would be necessary to plan it this activity well in advance for it to work smoothly. Because I am still learning about blogging as well as being a new teacher, I would greatly appreciate any suggestions or strategies!
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As I was reading your blog, I thought the same thing about what difficulties you might run into. Then I noticed you thought the same thing. As I thought about it, I thought it may not be as difficult as you and I think it would be. Especially now that we know more about blogging. If you think about all the educational websites that are out there today it makes me think that there has to be someone, somewhere that is teaching that same book. I think the solution to this would be to start a blog of your own that would advertise the fact that you need to find educators that are willing to collaborate with you. What better way to starting a class blog than to find a cooperative teacher who is also a blogger?!!??
ReplyDeleteOne way to keep a handle on the blog might be to begin using it as a place to post links that apply to the literature or novel you are reading. I know when my 9th grade class read To Kill a Mockingbird I found several sites about the author, Harper Lee. Also, I was able to find news related sites and even a court record of the Scottsboro trials that were the basis for the trial in the book. I even found a magazine article that published a letter from Harper Lee to Oprah! Because I did not have a class blog, I either had to make hard copies for students to read or had to sign up for the computer lab and create an activity that lead them to the sites. Corresponding with another class in another location reading the same novel is a great idea, but I wouldn't limit yourself. Student's may equally be surprised how their classmates feel about the novel, or, if your school is like mine, there are usually two or more teachers reading it at the same time. They can correspond with their own schoolmates as well. I do think having students publish their responses gives them a sense of authorship and ownership of their ideas. It is empowering for them to have their work displayed. I see it when my students present projects they have created whether it is a poster, a power point, or a drawing.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of using blogs to connect the classroom with the outside world. Connecting with other classrooms and even an author would be a great way for students to make a connection with literature. The only suggestion I would make is to ensure you use only students' first names or nicknames. The use of first names was suggested by Richardson that in order to protect you from liability issues and students from predators to establish this as a safety precaution.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of the blog being a place for students to showcase their work. You said it would be a great tool to allow students to share with their classmates, but a way to share it with the world. Not only students, but parents, other educators, or anyone that students would feel comfortable sharing their work with. An eportfolio to share student's work with parents in the form of .pdf, .avi, and .jpeg files that are password protected would enable nl thoghs people you choose to have access to the studens work. In the eportfolio yo couldcllect 12 pieces for each student that would meet all the cours requirements fr agiven semester - as an example.
ReplyDeleteWriting is an important part of the English classroom. I think it is important to recognize, though, that the writing required for blogging differs from that which students are expected to demonstrate in most English papers. It takes different skills to write in a blog, skills which students are probably more likely to have than the formal research ones, but still skills that students will need to be taught to use properly. Check out http://www.famousbloggers.net/dynamic-content.html to read a post about what one blogger thinks will attract and hold an audience's attention. I think teaching students these skills will help them to communicate successfully through a blog no matter the subject you ask them to tackle.
ReplyDelete*If anyone knows how to insert a link, I would appreciate the advice!
I think your idea is excellent. Our students, and we as well, would really benefit from sharing our thoughts and opinions with others who may be seeing things from a different perspective, be it because they live in a different neighborhood or a different country. You pointed yourself the one area where you may run into difficulties, which is coordinating with another teacher to make this happen. It definitely seems like a great idea to pursue though and I wish you luck.
ReplyDeleteI forgot to add something to my comment. One way in which you might be able to get in contact with other teachers is through websites that allow teachers to connect with each other. This link might be helpful: http://www.idealist.org/teachers/talkwithothers.html#sec1
ReplyDeleteFrancesca,
ReplyDeleteI think you have some wonderful ideas of how to incorporate blogs into the English classroom. I especially like the collaboration with classrooms from other schools, regions, etc. (I know my students from South Carolina would benefit greatly from points of view of people beyond Lexington County.) Another place that you could look for teachers working on the same novel or writing in the same genre would be at the English Companion Ning. It is a great space! www.englishcompanion.ning.com .
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ReplyDeleteFrancesca,
ReplyDeleteI am certified in English for grades 6-12, and I usually don’t have my own classroom, but the last two years I have been fortunate and was able to obtain my own room. I still have not set up a classroom blog. I only first heard about blogging three classes ago! I agree with what you had to say about blogging having endless opportunities in the English classroom. I do a lot of peer editing. Our school district really promotes peer editing, and I think blogging for writing would be a great experience for the students. I still am not quite sure what I am going to try, but I stated in my blog that I would like to assign an outside reading book and then have my students answer critical thinking questions and discuss with each other.
I think you are so right; we need to take blogging a step further and expand our blogging in the classroom to foreign classrooms. The only problem I see with this extension of the activity is we, as educators, would really have to monitor all correspondence. There is always that one student, or two, who may say or should I say blog something inappropriate. Richardson states in his book that parents and administrators must be aware of “the process for reporting problems in their (students) blogs, whether technical or content related” (Richardson, 2009). He stated that kids should “never publish personal identifiers about themselves or others” (Richardson, 2009). Frankly, this disturbs me, because as I mentioned earlier, there will always be that one student or two that will break the rules.
I like your idea about students having a voice by writing instead of verbally expressing themselves. Often, I have noticed when doing journals, my kids say more in writing when I am the only one reading it. They speak less in class when everyone is listening.
If you had difficulty in finding and contacting an educator who was working on the same novel, maybe you could assign an outside reading novel first and after you and your students have had some blogging practice, then you might have a better handle on how to get in touch with another educator. As I said, I have never blogged, so I am probably not the best one to offer advice. Over and out.
Reference:
Richardson, W. (2009). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA:Corwin Press.
Thanks for the great post. I really appreciate your contribution especially the part about classroom discussions; they can be great springboards for blogging with studetns.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Joe
After reading everyone's posts I realized how many English teachers we have right here! I think keeping in touch even after Walden classes may help to eliminate the worry of finding a class to correspond with. It does not even have to be a whole unit, but perhaps a short story or poem, even just to experiment to see how it works. I also noted a lot of great tips such as using only students first names and also some great corresponding websites from Debb and Melissa. I think our own blogs can help us connect with educators from other classrooms as well. What a great week to start off with blogs!
ReplyDelete